Help!
My wheels are stuck on the car and I can't get them off! I removed all the nuts and they
won't
budge!
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You live in the Rust
Belt, don't
you? There are two answers to this, depending on how badly they're
welded on there.
The first thing to try
(with the car
properly supported on stands, of course!) is this: Wheel nuts removed,
tuck your left hand around the back of the wheel at the 9:00 position
so you can pull it towards you. Now pull hard towards yourself, and
while doing that, give the 3:00 position of the tire a hard smack
with the heel of your right hand. If the rust isn't too bad, the wheel
should pop off.
Didn't work? A more
drastic method is
then required, a method pretty much guaranteed to work: With all four
wheels on the ground, loosen all the wheel nuts so there is maybe 1/32"
of air between the nut and the wheel. If you can't see the air space
because your wheels are too thick, then after breaking the nut loose,
turn it clockwise by hand so the nut just touches the wheel, then turn
it a half-turn counter-clockwise. With the wheel nuts loosened thusly,
start the car and drive it out of your driveway or parking spot, then
back into place again, waggling the steering wheel madly as you go. You
might have to repeat this procedure a few times before the wheels are
liberated. If they're REAL bad, find a close speed bump or pothole
something to drive over. As soon as they crack loose, retighten them
again.
WARNING:
I am NOT suggesting you do something like drive the car to the store
like this. Your
wheels are LOOSE, and on purpose. You are only going to move the car 50
or 100 feet or so, NO MORE unless required. The idea is to use rotating
motion combined
with
steering stresses and the car's weight to break the corrosion seal that
is locking the wheels on to the car. You will not damage the wheel or
studs with such limited movement.